Count Etienne of Blois

Count Etienne of Blois (1049-17 May 1102) was the count of Blois from 1089 to 1102, succeeding Count Thibault III of Blois and preceding Stephen of Blois.

Biography
Etienne was born in 1049 to Count Thibault III of Blois and Garsinde du Maine, and he was from the House of Blois. Known in English as "Stephen", he is called Stephen II after Count Stephen of Troyes. Etienne took part in the First Crusade in 1096, writing enthusiastic letters to his wife Baroness Adele of Beaumont about the successes of the crusaders. In 1098 he returned home after the Siege of Antioch, not fulfilling his hopes of capturing Jerusalem. His wife convinced him to make a second pilgrimage, and on 17 May 1102 he was killed at the Second Battle of Ramleh by the Saracens. His son Stephen of Blois succeeded to the County of Blois and would later become king of England.